Onboard
QM2 maintains the custom of assigning restaurants based on cabin accommodations. Passengers booked in the largest suites dine in the Queens Grill. Passengers booked in junior suites dine in the Princess Grill. Both grills offer single-seating service with table-side preparation. All other passengers dine in the three-story Britannia Restaurant, which offers two sittings for dinner and open sitting for breakfast and lunch. In addition there are seven other venues for meals, including the signature Todd English restaurant, open to all passengers by reservation for lunch and dinner. The large Lido Restaurant that serves buffet-style breakfasts and lunches becomes four intimate venues for dinner serving Italian, Asian and English fare, as well as a restaurant with a demonstration galley.
QM2 has the first planetarium at sea, carries Oxford dons for classroom learning and offers acting workshops with students from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. A new addition to its top-notch enrichment programs is Science at Sea, a speaker series featuring prominent science writers.
This ship offers something for everyone. Tea is served by white-gloved stewards in several venues. There is a British pub, a champagne bar, stylish (and expensive) shops and a heritage trail that relates Cunard's history. The stunning two-story spa is run by Canyon Ranch. The ship is wired for Wi-Fi, and there is a computer learning center.
Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth capitalise heavily on the rich heritage of Cunard -- but as newer cruise ships, they also offer all the modern amenities expected. Both have lavish suites of some 2,000 square feet overlooking the stern -- and even standard accommodations are spacious and pleasantly furnished (in contrast to the more basic cabins found on ocean liners of old).
Continuing a well-established Cunard tradition, the passengers in the best cabins dine in the single sitting Queens Grill and Princess Grill restaurants. They also share a lounge and an outer deck area, where the meals can be taken al fresco in good weather.
For those in standard accommodations, the two-deck-high Britannia restaurant can serve up to 800 diners at once. Here you have the choice of first or second seating for dinner, but lunch and breakfast are open seating. A separate British pub serves grub like cottage pie and bangers and mash at lunchtime.
Other dining options include the Lido buffet, which serves breakfast and lunch, and Todd English (Queen Victoria) and The Verandah (Queen Elizabeth), additional for-fee venues for lunch and dinner.
On the sister ships, afternoon tea is a white-glove affair served in the lovely two-deck-high Queens Room. The ceremony is a throwback to an altogether grander age of travel and represents Cunard's commitment to its heritage.
As of November 2011, all three Cunard ships will be re-flagged from Southampton, U.K., to Hamilton, Bermuda. The move will allow the line to conduct onboard weddings at sea. The wedding program will begin in 2012 after the world cruise season.
Fellow Passengers
American cruises attract mostly Americans, while on European cruises, QM2, QV and QE sail with mostly British passengers with a healthy dose of Continental Europeans and Americans onboard. Announcements are made in English, German, French, and, on occasion, Spanish. Passengers on cruises tend to be older than those on crossings, but there's enough buzz about Cunard as to attract significant numbers of young passengers and families. (The children's facilities are top drawer.) The dress code rotates among casual, informal and formal in about equal proportion.
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Queen Elizabeth @ Cruise Crazies
All Ships
Some Ships
No Ships
TV/Radio
CD Player
In-Stateroom Movies
iPod Docks/Stereos
In-Stateroom Internet Access
Direct Dial Telephone
Private Safe
Minibar/Refrigerator
Hair Dryer
Traditional Assigned Seating
Open Seating
Formal Nights
Specialty/a la carte Venues
Coffeehouse/Patisserie
24 Hour Food Service Available
Family Staterooms
Reduced Cruise Rates
Babysitting Available
Cribs Available
Organized Age-Specific Programs
Games/Contests
Organized Parties and Events
Organized Sporting Activities
Cartoons
Movies
Educational Programs
Environmental Awareness Programs
Children-Only Pool
Children's Playroom
Teen Center or Disco
Teen Counselors
Youth Counselors
Meeting Coordinator
Meeting Space
Conference Dining
Private Party/Events
Business Center Services
Audio Visual Equipment
Computer Equipment
Email Access
Weddings/Honeymoon Packages
Guest Lecturers/Educational Programs
Cell Phone Service
iPod and/or iPhone Rental
Special Dietary Needs (Advance Notification Required)
Wheelchair Accessibility
Cardio Equipment
Weights (free weights and/or machines)
Personal Trainer
Total Fitness Program
Group Fitness Classes
Yoga/Pilates
Jogging Track
Basketball
Volleyball
Multi-use Sports Court
Paddle Tennis/Ping Pong
Rock Climbing Wall
Bowling Alley
Miniature Golf
Watersports Platform
Snorkel Lessons
Discover SCUBA /Resort Course
SCUBA Certification
Golf Programs
Golf Driving or Simulator
Clinics/Lessons
Onboard Pro
Golf Packages
Aromatherapy
Body Wraps
Mud Therapy
Ionithermie Treatments
Reflexology
Thalassotherapy
Massage
Facials
Manicure/Pedicure
Full Service Beauty Salon
Teeth Whitening
Nutritionist
Fitness Evaluations
Steam Room or Sauna
Jacuzzi or Whirlpool
(SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA) The Cunard Line, formerly the Cunard White-Star Line, is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on theNorth Atlantic for over a century.
In 1998 Cunard was sold to the cruise line conglomerate Carnival Corporation for US$500 million.[33] The next year Carnival acquired the remaining stock for US$205 million.[34] Each of Carnival's cruise lines is positioned to appeal to a different market, and Carnival was interested in rebuilding Cunard as a luxury brand trading on its British traditions. Under the slogan "Advancing Civilization Since 1840," Cunard's advertising campaign sought to emphasize the elegance and mystique of ocean travel.[35] Only the QE2 and Caronia continued under the Cunard brand and the company started Project Queen Mary to build a new ocean liner/cruise ship for the transatlantic route.[36]
By 2001 Carnival was the largest cruise company, followed by Royal Caribbean andP&O Princess Cruises, which had recently demerged from its parent P&O. When Royal Caribbean and P&O Princess agreed to merge, Carnival countered with a hostile takeover bid for P&O Princess. Carnival rejected the idea of selling Cunard to resolve antitrust issues with the acquisition.[37] European and U.S. regulators approved the merger without requiring Cunard's sale.[38] After the merger was completed, Carnival moved Cunard's headquarters to the offices of Princess Cruises in Santa Clarita, California so that administrative, financial and technology services could be combined.[39]
With the opening of Carnival House in Southampton in 2009,[40] executive control of Cunard Line was subsequently transferred from Carnival Corporation in the United States, to Carnival UK, the primary operating company of Carnival plc. As the UK listed holding company of the group, Carnival plc now has executive control of all Carnival Group activities in the UK, with all UK based brands, including Cunard, being headquartered in offices at Carnival House.
In 2004, the 36-year-old QE2 was replaced on the North Atlantic by Queen Mary 2. Caronia was sold and QE2 continued to cruise until she was retired in 2008. In 2007 Cunard added a large cruise ship, Queen Victoria. She is not a sister for the QM2, being ordered by Carnival as a Vista class cruise ship for the Holland America Line. To reinforce Cunard traditions, the QV has a small museum on board. Cunard commissioned a second Vista class cruise ship, Queen Elizabeth in 2010.[41]
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